A Further Look at Performance (cont’d)

Mounting Variance:

(*) Note that the Enzotech Stealth’s stock mounting system broke (as did the backup) and was replaced by a similar-in-function mounting system (floating mounting plate, threaded posts, thumbnuts and springs); frankly, the replacement mounting system is probably a better mounting system than the stock one.  The floating mounting plate of the Enzotech Stealth really makes consistent mounting difficult.

For this, we’re looking at the seven MX-2 mounts and seven ATSG mounts and taking a weighted average of the deviation across mounts (grouped by TIM).  What this chart is trying to show is how much variation in performance there is due to the mounting system and how the block mates to the IHS.  Lower means performance is more consistent across mounts.

What the data tells us is that the kryos HF is noticeably less consistent than the CPU-370 and CPU-360 despite having the advantage of a mounting system with specific stops.  This is because of how difficult it is to evenly tighten down to those stops. The thick o-ring configuration’s enhanced bow decreases consistency.

Contact Quality

If we combine the results of Indigo Xtreme’s best mount, MX-2′s average mount, and ATSG’s average mount, we get this:

The AC kryos HF (thick o-ring) performs pretty similarly to the CPU-370 with all TIMs, with only slightly more degradation each time you decrease TIM quality.  With the stock o-ring, there’s more degradation, but it still seems flatter than any block except the CPU-370.

What does this say? The AC kryos HF makes really good contact in both configurations.  Extremely high mounting pressure (witness: my finger calluses) and a compressible bow (witness: flowrate drop as mounting pressure increases) do add up to really good contact.

This chart does not take into account subjective experience of using the mounting systems, just how it performs with regards to contact quality and consistency.  The closer to the bottom left, the better it is in both quality and consistency. The block does have an impact on both scores, so it’s a not pure mounting system metric, but rather how the mounting system works with the block.

Empirically, the AC kryos HF performs respectably well with its mounting system.  You could even argue that it’s the second best so far….until you actually use it.